The Reading Development of Swedish L2 Middle School Students and Its Relation to Reading Strategy Use

This two-year longitudinal study investigated Swedish L2 middle school students’ reading development and its relation to reported strategy use. Reading comprehension was measured on three occasions and strategy use was examined using the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) scale. The results show that student reading comprehension scores develop significantly over the last two years of middle school (grades 5–6). As expected, second-generation immigrant students score higher than first-generation immigrants, but the differences are not statistically significant. The study shows no gender-related differences in relation to reading strategy use. Boys and girls use strategies to a similar extent. However, good readers reported using all types of reading strategies, particularly global strategies, to a greater extent than poor readers. Interestingly, the reading achievement of boys was strongly correlated to the reported use of global strategies, while the reading achievement of girls was not correlated to strategy use at all. Implications of the study and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

英语阅读策略培训对非英语专业本科生的影响*

旨在探讨英语阅读策略培训对非英语专业本科生英语阅读策略使用情况以及英语成绩的影响。对非英语专业大学生进行了一学期的英语阅读策略培训,使用几次英语阅读测试和自编的英语阅读策略调查问卷对实验组和对照组进行前后测。研究结果发现:(1)英语阅读策略培训能有效提高学生英语阅读策略的使用频率,帮助他们取得更好的阅读成绩;(2)与高水平学习者相比,中、低水平学习者可从策略培训中获得更大的收益。     

RATIONALE AND RESEARCH CONCERNING PREREADING STUDY STRATEGIES WITH SECONDARY AND COLLEGE STUDENTS

Reading and content area teachers frequently teach secondary and college students to use prereading study strategies in the belief that the strategies will facilitate reading comprehension. This article, a review of the literature published from 1960 to 1981, reveals many articles extolling the use of a particular prereading activity, but failing to support the use of the strategy with research. Regardless of the prereading strategies reported in the literature, it is clear that there is a dearth of conclusive research in this area. Careful, well‐designed experiments need to be conducted to determine the degree that prereading strategies expedite comprehension.     

Influence of Question Format and Text Availability on the Assessment of Expository Text Comprehension

This study examines how passage availability and reading comprehension question format (open-ended vs. multiple-choice) influence question answering. In two experiments, college undergraduates read an expository passage and answered open-ended and multiple-choice versions of text-based, local, and global bridging inference questions. Half the participants were allowed to refer to the passage when answering the questions and half were not. Participants' prior domain knowledge relating to the text contents was assessed using multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Correlation-based analyses in the two experiments indicated: (a) a decline in the relationship between prior domain knowledge and comprehension when the passage was available during question answering; and (b) a high correlation between multiple-choice and open-ended question answering performance when the passage was not available for reference. Overall the results indicate that the nature of the reading comprehension assessment is influenced by the specific task with which comprehension is assessed.     

Multiple Science Text Processing: Building Comprehension Skills for College Student Readers

The goal of this investigation was to determine which reading instruction improves multiple science text comprehension for college student readers. The authors first identified the cognitive processing strategies that are predictive of multiple science text comprehension (Study 1) and then used what they learned to experimentally test the effectiveness of explicit pre-reading instructions (Study 2). Study 1 showed that self-explaining was positively related to comprehension tasks. Study 2 showed that explicitly instructing participants to self-explain while reading multiple science texts enhanced comprehension test performance. These results showed that self-explanation during reading is a successful strategy for enhancing multiple science text comprehension.     

iSTART: Interactive strategy training for active reading and thinking

Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking (iSTART) is a Web-based application that provides young adolescent to college-age students with high-level reading strategy training to improve comprehension of science texts. iSTART is modeled after an effective, human-delivered intervention called self-explanation reading training (SERT), which trains readers to use active reading strategies to self-explain difficult texts more effectively. To make the training more widely available, the Web-based trainer has been developed. Transforming the training from a human-delivered application to a computer-based one has resulted in a highly interactive trainer that adapts its methods to the performance of the students. The iSTART trainer introduces the strategies in a simulated classroom setting with interaction between three animated characters—an instructor character and two student characters— and the human trainee. Thereafter, the trainee identifies the strategies in the explanations of a student character who is guided by an instructor character. Finally, the trainee practices self-explanation under the guidance of an instructor character. We describe this system and discuss how appropriate feedback is generated.     

iSTART: interactive strategy training for active reading and thinking.

Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking (iSTART) is a Web-based application that provides young adolescent to college-age students with high-level reading strategy training to improve comprehension of science texts. iSTART is modeled after an effective, human-delivered intervention called self-explanation reading training (SERT), which trains readers to use active reading strategies to self-explain difficult texts more effectively. To make the training more widely available, the Web-based trainer has been developed. Transforming the training from a human-delivered application to a computer-based one has resulted in a highly interactive trainer that adapts its methods to the performance of the students. The iSTART trainer introduces the strategies in a simulated classroom setting with interaction between three animated characters-an instructor character and two student characters-and the human trainee. Thereafter, the trainee identifies the strategies in the explanations of a student character who is guided by an instructor character. Finally, the trainee practices self-explanation under the guidance of an instructor character. We describe this system and discuss how appropriate feedback is generated.     

图文相关性对不同认知方式大学生阅读影响的眼动研究

阅读是我们日常生活中的一项重要认知活动。利用插图来帮助人们提高阅读理解能力是一种常用的方法。本研究选取了40名大学生做被试,使用眼动仪考察了图文相关程度(高和低)对不同认知方式大学生(场依存型和场独立型)图文阅读的影响。结果发现：(1)图文相关性对不同认知方式读者影响不同,图文相关程度对场独立型读者的阅读成绩无显著影响,但对场依存型读者影响显著。场依存型读者对高相关材料的阅读理解成绩显著优于低相关材料。(2)场依存型读者在阅读不同相关图文时会主动调整加工对象。图文相关高时,场依存型读者更多注视插图;而图文相关低时,场依存型读者更多注视文字内容。此外,场依存型读者在图文之间的转换和对文字的注视点平均持续时间多于场独立型读者。本研究认为,高相关插图有助于提高场依存型读者的阅读成绩;场依存型读者在阅读不同相关程度图文时会主动调整加工对象。     

语文学困生与学优生阅读理解监控的发展研究

本研究采用错误检测法和理解自信度评价法,以错误觉察人数、错误觉察成绩、理解自信度评价成绩、阅读时间和阅读理解成绩为分析指标,探讨了不同年级语文学困生与学优生的阅读理解监控特征。结果发现:(1)语文学困生的阅读理解监控能力明显低于学优生;(2)学生对低难度错误信息的理解监控能力明显高于对高难度错误信息的理解监控;(3)随着年级的增长,学生的阅读理解监控能力也随之提高。     

An Examination of the Effects of Repeated Readings with Secondary Students

Reading is a fundamental skill for success in school and as an adult. However, many children and adults experience difficulties reading. Previous research has demonstrated that repeated readings is an effective intervention for increasing both fluency and comprehension for elementary age readers of all skill levels. However, the impact of repeated readings on fluency and comprehension has not been examined with secondary students with reading deficits. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of repeated readings for increasing four secondary student's fluency on passages at their instructional level, at the ninth grade level, and on generalization passages from their school curriculum. Furthermore, the effects on comprehension were also explored. A comparison group of average readers served as an estimate for how fluently secondary students read. The results of this study demonstrated that fluency improvements were achieved for all of the participants with just ten additional hours of practice. Effects on comprehension were not as clear. Limitations and future directions for research are discussed.     

初中学习困难学生阅读交互教学实验研究

选取初一年级 2 8名阅读优生和 2 4名阅读困难学生 ,采用两因素完全随机实验设计 ,进行为期六周的教学实验。结果如下 :(1 )三策略组合的交互教学能显著提高优生和学习困难学生的提问策略水平 ,改善阅读态度 ;(2 )四、五策略组合的交互教学能显著促进优生和学习困难学生的阅读理解 ,提高提问和小结策略水平及理解监控水平 ,改善阅读态度     

Identifying Children in Middle Childhood Who Are at Risk for Reading Problems

The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate a universal screening battery for reading that is appropriate for older elementary students in a response to intervention model. Multiple measures of reading and reading correlates were administered to 230 fourth-grade children. Teachers rated children's reading skills, academic competence, and attention. Children were classified as not-at-risk or at-risk readers based on a three-factor model reflecting reading comprehension, word recognition/decoding, and word fluency. Predictors of reading status included group-administered tests of reading comprehension, silent word reading fluency, and teacher ratings of reading problems. Inclusion of individually administered tests and growth estimates did not add substantial variance. The receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis yielded an area under the curve index of 0.90, suggesting this model may both accurately and efficiently screen older elementary students with reading problems.     

Typing versus thinking aloud when reading: Implications for computer-based assessment and training tools

The goal of this study was to assess the impact of modality of production of think-aloud protocols on reading strategies. Readers in two studies spoke or typed protocols for narrative or science texts and completed comprehension tests for each text. Human judges identified the presence of paraphrasing, bridging inferences, and elaborating within the protocols. Reading comprehension skill was assessed with the Nelson-Denny test. With respect to narrative texts, paraphrasing and bridging were less frequent when readers were typing than when they were thinking aloud. With respect to science texts, less-skilled readers made bridging inferences more frequently when typing than when speaking. Conversely, skilled readers generated more paraphrases than bridges when typing thoughts but not when speaking. These results have implications for computer-based tools for reading assessment and intervention.     

STRATEGY INSTRUCTION FROM A SOCIOCOGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

One of the characteristics of proficient readers and writers is their flexible use of reading and writing strategies. Students experiencing difficulties with reading and writing frequently do not use as many strategies as they read and write. Strategies are the cognitive tools that readers use as they construct meaning from text and that writers use as they produce texts. Many of the strategies that proficient readers and writers use are acquired and some are learned. Reading and writing strategies are frequently learned by purposeful instruction in meaningful social situations. This paper describes the nature of strategy use and instruction from a sociocognitive perspective, discusses the need for purposeful strategy instruction for struggling readers and writers, discusses factors that influence strategy instruction, describes current classroom practices that are congruent with sociocognitive theory, and suggests that strategy instruction should be grounded in classroom routines and situated within beliefs about teaching and learning.     

Rethinking Middle School Reading Instruction: A Basic Literacy Activity

Reading fluency has been identified as a key component in effective literacy instruction (National Reading Panel, 2000). Instruction in reading fluency has been shown to lead to improvements in reading achievement. Reading fluency instruction is most commonly associated with guided repeated oral reading instruction. In the present retrospective study we examine the effects of a computer-based silent reading fluency instructional system called Reading Plus (Taylor Associates, Winooski, Vermount, USA) on the reading comprehension and overall reading achievement of a large corpus of students in an urban school setting. Findings indicate that the program resulted in positive, substantial, and significant improvements in reading comprehension and overall reading achievement on a criterion referenced reading test for Grades 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 and on a norm-referenced test of reading achievement for Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10. Moreover, mean gains made by students in the Reading Plus intervention were greater than mean gains for all students at the state and district level. The findings were generally positive for all subpopulations studied, including special education and regular education students. Qualitative reports from teachers who participated in the study were also supportive of the program. Implications for the study are explored for particular subgroups of students and for the role of fluency instruction with struggling adolescent readers.     

Metacomprehension and Negation: Assessing Readers’ Awareness of the Difficulty of Negated Text

The present research explored the awareness that readers have of the difficulty of negative text and the impact that awareness has on their comprehension of that text. Participants read narrative and expository paragraphs, rated their comprehension, and answered a comprehension question. The present research established detrimental effects of negation, as well as demonstrated the readers’ awareness of the difficulty of expository, negative text. However, there were no consistencies in the relationship between readers’ metacomprehension judgments and their actual comprehension performance, suggesting that readers may be unable to use their metacomprehension effectively to adjust their reading strategies when processing negation during reading.     

Prosody instruction intervention as a means to improved reading comprehension

The relationship between prosody and comprehension, previously demonstrated in K–12 students, was examined in university students enrolled in first‐year writing classes. Students completed the Gray Oral Reading Test‐5 both before and after an expressive reading intervention (ER) or no oral reading instruction (NI). Throughout the semester, the ER students marked an excerpt of text for prosodic signals and read it aloud with a partner. Training and practice in expressive reading led to a significant improvement in the normed Oral Reading Index score. Specifically, ER participants demonstrated improved accuracy, fluency, and reading comprehension in comparison with NI participants. The significant relationship between accuracy and comprehension in the ER condition suggests that expressive reading instruction strengthened student ability to read words accurately and, in turn, comprehend the material better than students in the NI condition. Expressive reading practices are recommended to engage students more deeply with the text.     

Evaluating reading and metacognitive deficits in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The reading achievement of children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has scarcely been explored in research conducted in the Spanish language and when it has, the results have been contradictory. The focus of the present research is to analyze participants' reading competency and metacognitive strategies as they carry out reading comprehension tasks. The sample was comprised of 187 Argentine schoolchildren aged 9 to 13 years old. 94 constituted the control group and the clinical group consisted of 93 schoolchildren diagnosed with ADHD. The metacognitive assessment was made up of two metacognitive tests, the Reading Awareness Scale (ESCOLA; acronym in Spanish) and a Spanish adaptation of Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI), and one test of reading comprehension, the Evaluation of Reading Processes for Secondary Education Students (PROLEC-SE; acronym in Spanish). Students with ADHD had lower achievement on tests o reading comprehension compared to the control group. Nevertheless, our results suggest their difficulties did not stem from readin comprehension problems, but rather from alterations in their Executive Functions, because when subjects' reading comprehensio was equalized, students with ADHD still exhibited a lower level of Metacognition, particularly when it came to planning.     

Teaching Beginning Braille Reading Using an Alphabet or Uncontracted Braille Approach

This study examined the effects of using a research based print reading program modified to accommodate beginning braille readers using an alphabet or uncontracted braille reading approach with five beginning braille readers. Four of the 5 participants displayed a clear increase in their ability to read high frequency words when they began using the Early Steps reading program modified to an Early Steps Alphabet Braille Reading Program. Study findings indicate that access to reading activities and materials afforded to sighted peers resulted in improved reading outcomes for children with visual impairments. Teachers, participants, and family members all viewed the use of the uncontracted braille reading program and materials favorably. Specialized reading instruction was also perceived as beneficial by teachers of students with visual impairments when the training addressed the specific needs of braille readers.     

The Relationships among Reported Strategy Use,Metacognitive Awareness,and Reading Achievement of High School Students

The metacognitive awareness and reading strategy use of high school students enrolled in two high schools were investigated. The correlations between reading scores and strategy use were examined as well as the variation in strategy use by self-rated reading proficiency and academic grades. The factor analysis revealed four factors on the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory: Metacognitive Awareness Strategies, Text-Based Strategies, Reading Process Strategies, and Predicting Strategies. Reading Process Strategies were most preferred by participants, whereas Text-Based Strategies were least preferred. A statistically significant difference in strategy use was found for reading achievement, self-rated reading proficiency, and grade level.